Robots are increasingly taking their place at work and at home. While many people are concerned about the loss of jobs with increasing automation, there’s no denying that this trend will only continue into the future. In fact, Mark Cuban argues that the U.S. needs to further invest in the field to stay competitive in the future.
To get a pulse on the field of robotics, its biggest trends and what to expect, we reached out to Steve Carlin, general manager and vice president of SoftBank Robotics America, maker of robot assistant Pepper, and Chris Jones, vice president of technology at iRobot Corporation, creator of the Roomba. Jones and a colleague of Carlin will discuss the field during a panel at CES on Jan. 5.
Their responses have been edited for length and clarity.
What’s surprised you in the past year in the robotics field?
Carlin: It’s been fascinating to watch robotics expanding its reach beyond manufacturing, warehouse and military applications into entirely new arenas. Robotics is now being explored to solve problems beyond efficiency, to address business needs, companionship and even healthcare.
Jones: It has been exciting to see the successful release of practical new products for the smart home and the continued maturation of the broader smart home ecosystem. In the increasing convergence of the home robots and smart home products and markets, I believe there is a great opportunity to realize compelling new smart home solutions where robots play an increasingly valuable and central role in the smart home. This will make for an exciting 2017.
What were the biggest trends? What do you anticipate for the next year?
Carlin: The biggest trend we see, with relation to technology, is the increasing comfort with and desire to speak to your technology. Devices like your smartphone, Apple TV, Echo or Google home are all making it increasingly easy to interact with the devices we use every day. We think this trend ultimately helps robotics and the potential adoption of robots in both a business and home setting.
Jones: What interests us the most in the area of home robotics is connectivity and home mapping. At the end of 2015, iRobot launched its first connected Roomba vacuum cleaner capable of mapping and navigating an entire level of a home. Imagine a map…